A leading cause of death in children is often misdiagnosed

When it comes to the birth and delivery of a child, most parents in Maryland
hope for one thing above all else: a healthy baby. Of all the potential
risks and complications that can occur with pregnancy, delivery and the
following weeks, many parents are unaware that a pediatric stroke is a
significant potential risk for their new born.

In fact, strokes in children are among one of the top 10 causes of death
for kids in the United States, including here in Maryland. Many parents
do not know that the risk of a stroke in their child is highest during
both the final stages of pregnancy and the newborn phase. Pediatric strokes
occur in about 1 in every 3,000 live births.

One family became the 1 in 3,000 when their son had a stroke in the womb.
The child survived and is now a happy toddler, but one side of his body
remains weaker and he has to undergo rigorous physical therapy. Soon,
half of his body will be confined to a cast as a means of forcing the
other, weaker half to strengthen. Luckily, he does not appear to have
any cognitive delays or disabilities following the stroke.

The most terrifying thing about these strokes in fetuses, newborns and
older children alike, is that there is often a delay in obtaining the
correctly diagnosis. The average diagnosis delay following a pediatric
stroke is 28 hours. For some victims, this medical mistake can mean critical
medical treatment is not received in timely fashion; therefore the child's
condition is worsened. In some instances this results in months of rehabilitation
or decades of disability.

In Maryland, when medical mistakes are made to the detriment of either
an infant or any other patient, there can in some instances be financial
recovery available. In such a pursuit, money can be awarded to provide
for the long-term care of a victim and other medical expenses. Speaking
with an experienced medical malpractice attorney can help a family in
such a pursuit.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

x

⚠

Your browser is out of date. To get the full experience of this website,
please update to most recent version.